DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN AUTOMATED FACILITY INVENTORY SYSTEM

Infrastructure assets are a vital investment in the well-being of a society. If they are not managed properly, the inevitable degradation of these assets could become a source of liability and a significant financial burden to a public agency. Therefore, infrastructure facility management requires reliable and accurate information. Monitoring infrastructure facilities requires extensive data collection efforts. Because present data collection methods are costly and time-consuming, automated methods of data collection are needed to meet evolving management needs. Roadware Corporation has introduced a subsystem for its Automatic Road Analyzer that addresses the need for automated data collection of roadside furniture. Surveyor (trademark) is a new technology used to make measurements from images recorded on videotape. With computer-scaled video and measurement data, an operator at an engineering workstation can measure the size and location of objects quickly and accurately. This information is flexible because the data output is fully compatible with Geographic Information Systems and Computer Automated Design systems. Sign management is one of the primary functions of this technology, but there are several applications. Surveyor (trademark) addresses those issues that make data collection and postprocessing efforts difficult and labor intensive. Implementing an automated data collection system ensures a more comprehensive data base, allowing for more accurate prediction and performance models. Automated data collection provides accurate data in a timely and cost-effective manner.